JoS/Kanna/8th Journal - Mistress Therana and the Kwama Princess
Frostfall, 4th, 3E 427
After spending a night at Castle Ebonheart, I set sail for Sadrith Mora on the other side of Vvardenfell. Getting there by boat is pretty much a must, as between the west and east coasts it's a volcanic no-man's land, and riding a Silt Strider there is impossible. I guess you could also walk, but why do that when you can enjoy the sights of this great archipelago and its hundreds, if not thousands of picturesque islands? Azura's Coast is more barren than the Ascadian Isles are though, so the landscapes turned more alien as we sailed further east. Just volcanic stone and giant mushrooms with little to no greenery.
We didn't arrive until night, and I was fast asleep by the time we got there, but since the boat wasn't leaving the port until noon of next day, I could sleep peacefully.
Sadrith Mora is a large city on an island off the eastern coasts of Vvardenfell, roughly an equal distance away from the island of Vvardenfell as it is from the shores of mainland and the Telvanni peninsula. The city itself isn't doesn't look as large as some of the big cities on I've visited, but it's very well spread out, with settlements even on the smaller islands towards Vvardenfell.
It's quite a different city from Balmora, which in turn is quite different to any town I've ever been to in Cyrodiil. Its name literally translates to "Mushroom Forest", and that's exactly what it is! Just imagine if this was the first place you landed in after traveling here from Cyrodiil and saw all those buildings made out of mushrooms… No wait, the other way around, as they ARE giant mushrooms that are made into buildings! Talk about a culture shock.
Getting to the city from the harbor was surprisingly easy, when you consider how the city has been divided. It's been segregated into two parts, with the non-Telvanni really only being welcomed freely in the Imperial fortress of Wolverine Hall south of the city, while around the Telvanni council as well as the tower of Tel Naga in the middle of the city, people won't welcome you as freely. As I said, if you're with Telvanni though, you won't have problems. If you're not, you'll probably be fine if you don't attract too much attention. Someone also talked to me about some "Hospitality papers" when I was entering the city, but I never even found a vendor who was selling such papers, so I didn't care. It was probably a scam anyway.
You can also sail straight to the mainland without Imperials trying to tell you the island is sealed off. Sea routes only lead to Firewatch and some small nearby settlements like Marog, located just a three hour trip away from here. There's also a sea route to Port Telvannis from Firewatch, but the trip is long and expensive, and with winter fast approaching, closed for few months. Regardless, all this information is good to know.
Since this is Telvanni territory, you also tend to come across slaves, as this is one of the only places in all of Tamriel where it's still tolerated as lawful practice. The Redoran doesn't condone slavery on this island, and Hlaalu likes to pretend they don't condone it. Sadrith Mora itself is a prominent harbor for slave trade in this region, located smack bang in the middle of the Inner Sea. Like seriously, when I was visiting the marketplace, they were selling slaves out there in the open! They're mostly used for labor and household work, but there were some scantly-clad ladies wrapped in chains as well, out there in the open. Owning sexslaves here is as socially acceptable as owning a dildo.
Elves have often considered themselves superior to others, especially the beastly Khajiit and Argonians, so they're seen in slavery most often. I've even heard rumors about Argonian leather and Khajiit fur being used for trade, just reinforcing the idea of some Dunmer treating them as animals. Humans being enslaved is a little rarer, considering that the Empire still rules over this province, even though the locals here like to act as if they don't. Same can be said about fellow elves, although it's probably not completely out of question either. I'm sure you can find even their fellow Dunmer being sold in chains in some markets, especially Ashlanders. On the point of sex slavery, you can imagine humans and fellow elves being more popular in that regard, also I'm sure that you can buy furry and scaly ladies to serve as sex toys as well. Or men. Of course, male sex slaves exist as well.
In addition, since some people are considered as property, the people who oppose slavery and want to take the slaves away from their masters are considered thieves. Oh, but you just wait, as that's not even the craziest part I heard today about this anarcho-capitalist "everything goes" society. More shockers about Telvanni law and customs were thrown my way when I finally got across applying to their House as a retainer.
I wasn't initially let inside the council house, which was the first time I had been denied entry to anywhere on this island, but after confirming with them that I'm only looking to join, they let me in. I approached the "Mouths", who determined whether I would be an acceptable addition to their society or not. Mouths are, well, some kind of servants for their patrons, who in turn are the "council", who are highest-ranking members of this House? I'm not sure, the politics of this House is complicated. To be a Mouth means to be quite a high ranking member of the House in its own right. I met five of them, and they all serve a different patron. They were happy with someone expressing interest in joining, especially someone as young as myself.
Here's the problem though: me being an outlander. While they don't mind me joining, joining them is a life-long commitment in a sense that once I join with them, I cannot join any other Great House. This applies to all outlanders, regardless of which House you're joining. That's fine by me, so thus we were able to continue.
Next, they explained me their laws and rules… And by Mephala's saggy tits, are their rules quite different from what they have in any other guild I've ever heard of!
For starters, everyone is expected to trust their own judgment. Stealing from others is allowed, as long as you manage to succeed. Yeah, seriously. If you successfully steal from the member of the House and live to tell the tale, you obviously deserve whatever it is that you took. I do notice a funny contradiction here though: if I were to steal a slave and lived to tell a tale, would I deserve it as my own? Would I not then be allowed to free that said slave if I so pleased, as he or she was now my own rightful property? Would that not make me a lawful abolitionist? I didn't ask any of the Mouths this… Just a funny little thought experiment I thought of while writing this…
Killing other members of the House is also tolerated to an extent. Nobody will bat an eye if you kill someone trying to steal from you, which is not unheard of but still extreme by Imperial standards, but to top it off, killing and murder are also considered an acceptable means of advancing in ranks to assume your superior's position. "Murdering your opposition by magic is a traditional way of settling disputes", I was told. "If you successfully murder your opponent, your argument by definition has more merit than theirs". What kind of tradition is that? These traditions aren't that often practiced though, as trying to murder your superior could very well be a damn suicide, considering how mighty some of them are. Telvanni masters are only second to the mages of Artaeum, and even then I'm sure you can find those equal to the mightiest of Altmer living in these towers. Besides, hierarchy is highly respected here.
Seriously, this society is more complicated than I thought… Either way, I joined. As an institution, it's far "freer" than the Mage's Guild and in the end. Then again, it's only really "free" to those in control, as you can't really call those hired and even enslaved by the Telvanni "free". Might makes right here, I suppose.
In the end, despite everything I told, all these rules and customs simply exist to make the study and advancement of magic as free and open as possible. That is what's most important to me, and the reason for why I came here in the end.
As for me being part of both Telvanni and the Mages Guild… They're at odds with one another a lot, so even though I can technically be considered a member in both, I can't imagine this lasting forever. Telvanni wouldn't exile me for it, but they would be wary. Meanwhile, the Mages Guild would be PISSED. Without a doubt, there will one day become a time when I will have to choose my allegiance once and for all. Hopefully not, as I just want to learn about magic, not get into politics of these rivaling establishments.
Regardless, I'm gonna be staying here for a while now. I'm in no rush to return to west coast quite yet. Hopefully it'll be fun!
Frostfall, 12th, 3E 427
For the past week or so I've been busy doing work for the Telvanni, mostly just small errands and chores around the city and surrounding islands. Both the towers of Tel Fyr and Tel Aruhn are built on small islands just a short boat ride away from Sadrith Mora, but I only got to visit the latter. Tel Aruhn is where the Archmagister lives, and they offer quite a lot of services for the Telvanni members as well. No outsiders allowed inside though. Tel Fyr is owned by a guy named Divayth Fyr, who prefers to stay away from politics supposedly. There's no work to be found there either, and no boat stops by, so no point in visiting.
I've also noticed that these people are really friendly to their fellow retainers, and you can enjoy a lot of great services. Like, there's just something so comforting about how those guards with their weird cephalopod helmets greeting you warmly and even referring to you as "Muthsera". It's something the locals say to those they respect greatly, kind of like "Sera" but even more respectful, but I'm not sure what the direct translation is.
What else? Well, the pay is amazing, as the Telvanni are very rich, and the work doesn't take too much of my time either. I've gotten myself time to spend at the local taverns too, like Fara's Hole in the Wall. I ended up getting hit on, and having sex with some young Redguard by the name of Rinina, an accomplished Spellwright in the service to the Archmagister. Not sure what he was doing there in Sadrith Mora, but it was the first and only time I've gotten laid during this little trip.
It's also a little weird that nobody really bats an eye at children engaging in courtship either. Go hit on a little girl on the streets of Skingrad where I grew up and the guards will take you away in chains, lock you in jail for being a pedophile and throw away the key. Romance between adults and children has to be so very hush-hush in a normal, "polite" society, but not here.
Telvanni Retainers in a Telvanni society - no matter how young they are - have the same rights as any legal adult would. That includes the ability to consent to sex. Likewise, a child in slavery is consider the same as an adult in slavery, as property. Nobody's gonna jail you for owning an underage slave, or for engaging in consensual sex with a minor. I mean, I've always thought of myself as mature-minded enough to consent to sex despite being just ten, but you know, some adults can be annoying moral busybodies… I guess that's just their way of caring about children, who they want to protect from all the horrible evil that adults want to do to us or something…
All in all, even with all the free-time and studying, and now writing and procrastinating, I've got quite a lot of drakes in my purse right now, more than I made in Balmora in a month.
Despite my extensive knowledge, there are some basics that Telvanni require from their members before they can be truly considered true mages. One of these basics is "Levitation" magic, which was outlawed by the Empire some years ago. Yeah, illegal in most places, but considered "basics" here. It sounds scary and intimidating as a subject, and while it's way more difficult than you average Alteration spells are, it's not a spell out of reach for those with even an average understanding of that school of magic. You just need to consider safety; knowing spells like Feather and Slowfall is essential. Makes sense, as you really don't want to fall down and break your legs.
As for Levitation itself, the main driving factor behind success is focus above everything else. Don't even think about being able to succeed if you're out of breath; you're not going to be able to do it midair on in the middle of combat unless you're really experienced. I got hang of it almost instantly, which is not at all what I expected, and neither did Galos, the mouth who was tutoring me. Granted, I can't levitate very fast, but I can do it for a very long time. I was tested to see where my limits lie and I could keep myself suspended in air for whole three minutes before I felt like I could not will myself to float anymore. Pretty nice, if I may so myself!
Given that I have now learned the very basics of House Telvanni, it's time for some actual proper work. Felisa suggested that I should perhaps seek out her mistress, a mage by the name of Therana, who's been looking for an assistant on a little project she's been conducting. Felisa warned me that it will require a strong heart on my part, and also said that since I'm going to meet her patron, I should also run a small errand for her. She gave me a skirt, a real nice miniskirt, although maybe a little short… Not that I like to wear skirts anyway. Therana resides on a small island in the town of Tel Branora. Getting to the island by foot is possible, but to avoid stress, it's best to arrive by boat.
I'm happy to get some decent work now, but what puzzles me is… Why would I need a strong heart?
Frostfall, 13th, 3E 427
I was told that Mistress Therana is an eccentric girl, but if you ask me, that's an understatement. She's a perverted lunatic!
I got to her chamber on the top of the mushroom tower and found her in a small and messy room. There were books laying around along with some precious gemstones, and she was talking to a Khajiit man like he was just some kind of house-cat, like a pet. This man was butt-naked, apart from one piece of clothing, a slave bracelet on his right arm.
Therana herself is tiny. I was also told that she is old, like really fucking old, so old in fact that she's gone completely senile and crazy in the head, but she looks younger than me. Forget about saggy tits, she doesn't even have tits! I'm bustier than her, and I'm ten! That's a freaking child, not some thousand-year-old granny! A fiery redhead, red eyes and grey skin of the Dunmer and a slim figure of a child. How can she look this young? What sorcery is at play here? Like, is she a Vampire or what?
I approached her, saying that I hope I'm not interrupting anything important, and I explained my business, saying that Felisa sent me. She also noticed the skirt I was holding, but she didn't take it from my hands immediately. Instead, she started rambling about how it could be cursed, that there's just no way of knowing what kinds of tricks Felisa is planning to play on her. So, she pointed at me, and gave me an order.
"Get naked, now", she said.
"E-excuse me?" I asked, blushing like crazy. I couldn't help but to notice the Khajiit slave licking his lips.
"Therana needs to see you naked, and Therana needs you to put on the skirt", she ordered. "Need to make sure it's not cursed!"
That wasn't certainly what I was expecting, a powerful Dunmeri wizard talking in third person! Well, I followed her request. It was so embarrassing to undress in front of someone who I just met, and the fact that there was this creepy beast of a man purring and meowing also staring at me didn't help. Despite everything, I slowly got rid of all my clothes, and I was left with the pretty black skirt. Then, as soon as I raised it to my hip, she got mad at me.
"That's Therana's skirt!" she screamed and prepared a powerful spell. The only thing that was going through my mind was, is this how I was going to die, being transformed into a pile of glitter and stardust by some crazy magister's spell. I took the skirt off as fast as I could and started apologizing profusely, begging for her mercy, promising that I would never do anything of sort ever again. She just giggled and said too late, and the next thing I knew I was lying stunned on my back on top of the carpet in the middle of the room. She walked next to me, and arms crossed, and we had the following conversation.
"So, Felisa sent you, huh…"
"Y-yes…"
"Therana knew she could count on her." She giggled gleefully. "You're just the kind of slave that Therana needed for her next experiment!"
"I'm not a slave though, I'm a retainer", I said, trying to clear a misunderstanding. Too bad it didn't help.
"Retainer, slave, what's the difference?" she asked. What was scariest about the whole thing was her honest to gods expression, and the fact that she probably believed every word of the nonsense that was coming out of her mouth. "So anyway, Therana needs you to be a test subject for her experiment. You're gonna breed eggs."
"Eggs…?"
"Yes, cross-species breeding", she said without a shed of embarrassment of hesitation in her voice, almost as if this extremely abnormal and perverted idea was completely normal to her. Never mind the fact that the idea of breeding eggs sounds like something only a deviant and a true sexual degenerate could think of, my body shouldn't even be capable of doing that!
"I'm not mature enough to get pregnant", I tried to explain.
"That's why Therana has to test this on you!" she said. "It's gonna be fine!"
She went on to explain that she's been studying Kwama for a long time, as these curious, massive insects fascinate her very much. They begin as ants, then take form of just these Kwama worms, or giant larvae in this case, but depending on the circumstances they can evolve and grow up to be very different creatures from where they started at. They can be peaceful workers on four legs, warriors standing on two, and some can even grow tentacles! Then there are the queens whose sole purpose is breeding and reproduction. Queens are what Therana's been studying the most. She's also a proud owner of a Kwama mine, although eating eggs is banned on this island. Why? Because she's crazy, I don't know! She herself insist that what she does with all these Kwama is amazing fun based on her own personal experiences.
If she loves getting fucked by Kwama so much, why even need me!? Didn't matter, as she instructed her slave to fetch some gear, and then, while I was still stunned and paralyzed, the Khajiit locked me in them without saying a word. I tried to remind her that I didn't come here as a slave, but she didn't care. "Slave" was what she needed me to be, so "slave" is what she made me.
"Therana asked Felisa to send a test subject, so that's what you'll be." She proceeded to lock me in a collar, all while reassuring me that it won't hurt. Probably anyway.
Instead of being brought to the actual mine, she brought me to the dungeons underneath the tower of Tel Branora. This dungeon is her "playroom", her testing ground for magical experiments. She placed her hands on my shoulders and guided me slowly towards a dark cell. I could not make sense of what was inside, but I could hear something slimy crawling about in the darkness. I was getting scared and anxious, wondering was I really going to be safe? She said that I'll be her fourth ever "Kwama Princess", the first child ever to be one, and then she pushed me forward, closing the door of the pod, locking me in.
So, there I was, naked, powerless, with all my magicka stripped away by these oppressive shackles, unable to do anything but watch as a monster approached me. It wasn't like any of the other Kwama I've ever seen before. It was a lot bigger, and slower too, with tentacles emerging from many parts of its body, like it was some kind of strange insectoid-octopus hybrid. Therana explained to me that it's a special kind of Kwama Queen, one that does not store its eggs inside its own body. Instead, it uses ovipositor to lay its eggs into other hosts.
My intuition told me to escape and defend myself, but there was no escape from its clutches. Its tentacle-like limbs grabbed onto my ankles, and I fell to the ground mid-run. With my feet no suspended in air, with me trying to kick myself free, getting back to my feet was impossible. Its head was squirming towards me, and it was aiming for my exposed quim.
Up until that point, I was kind of under an impression that this all could be just a prank or a huge misunderstanding, but no, I was seriously gonna get raped by a damn insect, a mutant with slimy tentacles and everything.
It begun by licking me. Its massive, toothless jaw clasped around my hip, locking itself in place, with its soft and slimy but warm membrane hugging against my skin. I tried to punch and push it away, but it was like I was hitting a cushion, incapable of doing any damage. Its tendril-like tongues ran across my vulva and everything in between, even my taint and my anus. Like, it was all over me, and it felt so surreal and unnatural. My heart was beating harder than I can remember since forever, and I called out to Therana, asking is this seriously happening?
"Yeah, but don't worry! Therana will make sure you'll come out safe and sound. Eventually."
I didn't like the sound of that "eventually", but my fear was turning into curiosity. I mean, I couldn't deny that those tendrils were making me feel amazing, even thought it was a little disgusting and creepy at the same time. I had hard time holding my voice in, so I just held my hand on top of my mouth in disbelief, as I stared down. I couldn't even see what was going on due to my entire hip being submerged in its mouth. I could feel it spreading my lips apart, trying to push in, push deeper, and I just lost it. Those tendrils were coming inside me while stimulating my clitoris continuously. I tried to sway my hips from left to right, up and down, but I could not fight against the continuous, relentless assault. It was draining my strength away slowly but surely.
This bizarre tentacle worm attacked me with its tentacles once more, and it took my body, raising me to the air with my back turned towards it, and my face towards Therana, who was watching the events unfold with a curious smile on her face. Holding me close to it with its limbs, it dropped my hip on top of its pulsating reproductive organ. I was in no position to resist, so I just had to take it and allow it into me. It begun fucking me, pounding into me, while I was helpless to move my arms or my legs. I could feel my muscles responding to me, but no amount of power was going to free me from being raped. It was so damn strong and violent with its thrusts. Never had I ever even thought that I could be dominated that way.
Slimy, limp tentacles ran across my body, tickling my waist, touching my limbs, caressing my breasts, teasing my clit and my nipples, pushing to my butt and licking even there. Each thrust felt more powerful than the last, and I could feel it growing. It's like it was opening up or something. I didn't know too much about insect anatomy at the time, but I knew, since Therana says that this is a mutated Queen, that it really was gonna lay some eggs now. All of that fucking and thrusting had been just a show to soften and excite me up to be able to receive its gift of life.
Its ovipositor stood still while slowly, one by one, eggs were inserted into my womb, each one being size of a chicken egg. Kwama eggs of course grow up to be much bigger, being able to weigh as much as two pounds. I'm not even sure what to make of the feeling. It felt good, but not that intense. My waist could only accept so many while retaining its flat form, but it didn't stop it from injecting me with more of its unhatched babies. It was simultaneously interesting and terrifying to watch and feel my belly grow heavier and bigger.
This was Therana's biggest test: she wanted to see how much would a child be able to hold. Of course an adult would be more effective at this, she said it so herself, so this really was just an experiment for her.
The monster let me go, and I was left laying on my side, holding my stomach. I felt heavy and seriously groggy, and I could only get on my knees, no amount of trying was gonna help me get on my feet on my own. That's when the door opened. Therana and her slave approached me to save me from that jail, and she congratulated me on being such a brave and good girl. Hugging me from behind, she rubbed my inflated belly and assured me that it's not gonna hurt at all. "A Kwama Princess does not experience pain during childbirth", she whispered. "All you will experience is pleasure…"
After that, I finally got to rest. I'm still naked, still in oppressive chains, and still a slave. She even marked my shoulder with her insignia to assert her ownership over me, although I feel like this tattoo isn't permanent. I hope it isn't… Surely a real tattoo would've hurt more. This felt more like some kind of sticky paper being put on me. Still, it's very much a part of my shoulder now, and I couldn't wash it off.
Yeah… That's what Felisa meant when she said I'll need a strong heart. Never did I ever think I would be tricked into being turned into a damn slave…
Still, at the same time, Therana provided me with nice quarters. Like, this is a really nice room. Sure, the door is locked, and no stairs lead down from here either meaning that I'd have to levitate anyway, but I've got a bed, a table, a bath and some books too. There's also one of those Dwemer puzzle boxes on the shelf. Should I try to solve it? I could spend some time on it once I get bored. All my gear, my money and other stuff and tools is here too, down to every last septim and a piece of alchemical ingredient.
Now, all that's left is for me to wait for tomorrow. Therana says there'll be need for me to perform more experiments for her.
End of current content.